Cayley is headed for high school this fall, which meant she needed a more fashionable, fun and functional bedroom workspace/study area. When her parents decided to tackle this makeover project, they headed for IKEA. A little hacking later, this is what the space looks like

Against all my expectations, my daughter Ayla is a princess-loving, pink-obssessed, necklace-wearing girly girl. She's two, and yet she often demands wardrobe changes several times per day. Honestly, I don't know how this happened; I always kind of thought I end up with a tomboy, but no, her favorite games are 'jewly' (jewelry) and and dressing up her 'babies.'

It's cool, though. I can adapt. And here's proof: this fall I was driving by an...

Whose parents, grandparents or auntie didn't have one of these two-tiered end tables back in the 60's or 70's? Although the shape is super-dated, there's something about them that appeals to me. The 'nook' for books? The top shelf

Welcome to our blog series, My Total Office Makeover, in which Curbly's editor-in-chief, Chris Gardner, realizes that as a full-time design and craft blogger working from home, he'd better transform his second bedroom into a space where work can actually get done, and look pretty cool while it happens.

Part VII: The (Big?) Reveal For a year and a half, I had a spare bedroom that was more-or-less the kind of of place where you shut the door when you had company over. Heck, I didn't even like spending time in there, opting to do most of my work on the sofa instead.

So, I toughened up, made a few trips to the hardware and craft store, came up with a few original IKEA hacks, vowed to keep my space organized, and created a space where I spend more time than in any other room. Sometimes I even entertain in here!

Welcome to our newest blog series, My Total Office Makeover, in which Curbly's editor-in-chief, Chris Gardner, realizes that as a full-time design and craft blogger working from home, he'd better transform his second bedroom into an inspiring space where work can actually get done.

Part VI: Inspiration, Inspiration, Inspiration As a design writer and maker, I spend my days swimming in a sea of image heaviness: photos of incredible rooms, beautiful handmade objects, clever logos and typography, and just awesome looking goodies. For my new office space, I wanted an opportunity to have an ever evolving and changing collection of images, allowing me to curate, add, and reorganize as necessary. So, immediately I thought "corkboard!" and upon checking out the prices at the office supply store, immediately I thought "DIY!" (Seriously, $45 bucks for a bulletin board?!)

So, I did a little research, and came up with a solution that allowed me to create attractive and HUGE pushpin-able surfaces for under $5.00 each, allowing me to cover all of my walls for less than $20.00.

Welcome to our newest blog series, My Total Office Makeover, in which Curbly's editor-in-chief, Chris Gardner, realizes that as a full-time design and craft blogger working from home, he'd better transform his second bedroom into an inspiring space where work can actually get done.

Part III: The Custom Desk

(Read Part II here) Having figured out a functional floorplan, I busted out the hex-key and got things assembled. I chose a basic rectangular desk top with basic legs for my media workstation, and weeded my collection of gear down the essentials. It was still very apparent, however, that I needed more space: